clinicPesa is a social enterprise aiming to provide secure access to health solutions. They believe that no one should be denied health care because they cannot afford it. They target low income populations living in rural, urban and peri-urban areas of Uganda. Their typical customer earns a limited income which is stretched to cover their daily needs, let alone generate savings. The culture of saving and buying insurance is not one widely practised, meaning that when healthcare is needed, few can afford it. clinicPesa has created a platform that enables people to save little amounts regularly which will then cumulate and grow, using the highly accessible and popular mobile money infrastructures. Mobile money is used far more widely than banking in Africa as it is accessible to remote locations and without the need for internet.

They are providing digital healthcare microloans and saving platforms which can be used to pay medical and pharmaceutical bills and have done so through creating partnerships with the mobile money companies to host this platform, avoiding their normal rates. Their low income customers have not normally had access to loans or the opportunity to grow sustainable savings. clinicPesa use a history of mobile money transactions to generate a credit score for accessing loans that will top up their savings pot and have restricted withdrawals in the first 12 months, to allow time for savings to accrue. A minimal withdrawal fee of 1% generates income for the social enterprise. They have been running this as a pilot and are now ready to roll it out on a larger scale, planning also to develop partnerships with health clinics to accept payment directly from the platform, ensuring its use for this provision.

For more information, please visit their website.